ALLAN THE MAN

Chot Reyes hasn’t made up his mind on the final composition of the Gilas Pilipinas 12-man lineup.

With only 13 of them leaving with him for the 10-day training camp in New Zealand, Reyes is having a hard time choosing who to drop from the lineup to the reserved list.

It’s practically the same players, who went in Lithuania for a two-week training camp last month.

They are big men Marcus Douthit, Junemar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Beau Belga, Ranidel de Ocampo and Marc Pingris, guards Jayson Castro, LA Tenorio and Jimmy Alapag and wingmen Gary David, Larry Fonacier, Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood.

Seven-foot center Greg Slaughter, the only amateur player in the seniors’ pool, was reportedly not cleared by Ateneo to join the New Zealand trip to focus on his studies. Sonny Thoss, who missed the Lithuania trip after seeking medical treatment in China, will again miss the last overseas camp before the competitions. The 6-foot-7 Thoss is scheduled to join the Alaska Aces in the US on July 15 as part of their bonus for winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title.

Speaking after their final practice at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday before departing Tuesday noon, Reyes told Philstar.com that the ‘Final 12’ will be known on Thursday, a day before the deadline for submission to FIBA Asia body.

“Wala pa,” Reyes told Philstar.com when asked of the final lineup. “Mag-uusap pa kami for one more time with the coaches and even the players [on July 11] in New Zealand.”

Reyes was still far from satisfied with the effort of the team during their Monday practice.

“I thought we played with a lot of effort. People came out with a lot of intensity. Not everyone played well, some several players didn’t play too well but that’s understandable given the situation we’re in,” Reyes said.

In New Zealand, the nationals will play six games against tough teams from their National Basketball League (NBL).

“The New Zealand (trip) is supposed to comprise the final preparation before actual competition sa August 1,” Reyes said. “The main goal is to get us completely ready.”

Reyes will probably play his ‘Final 12’ in the six-game schedule starting off against the Hawkes Bay Hawks on Friday and Saturday.

They will take the NBL All Stars composed of the players from the teams that were eliminated in the ongoing season with American imports, on Sunday at Pettigrew Green Arena in Napier, New Zealand.

Next on their schedule will be the NBL Final Four-bound Wellington Saints on July 16 and the Auckland Rangers on July 17 before rounding up their trip with a game served to be an 'acid' test against the New Zealand national team on July 18.

Similar to their Lithuania camp set-up with former national coach Kestusis Kemzura, Gilas will also be linking up with former New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin to pick up some of his ideas of the international game.

Aside from leading New Zealand to a semifinal finish in the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship, he also coached Lebanon to the 2010 FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup title then Jordan to a second place finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia Basketball Championship in China last year.

For More Personal Updates Follow Me on TWITTER or Like My Page on FACEBOOK
You Can Also CONTACT ME HERE.
...